Billionaire Adelson demands $750M in public funding for new Raiders site

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Parties involved in a prospective Las Vegas stadium for the Oakland Raiders reduced their list to two potential venues, but will not go through with the project unless they receive $750 million in public funding.

Sheldon Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate from Las Vegas, is at the forefront of the project and spoke to a committee Thursday about his plan to build a new stadium that is projected to cost $1.9 billion. Adelson is the founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and boasts a net worth of $28.6 billion, according to Forbes.

“Not to be difficult, but we’re not negotiable,” Las Vegas Sands president Rob Goldstein said on behalf of Adelson to The Associated Press. “If we can’t get 750 (million), we respectfully thank you but we’re going to move on.”

Gaining public funding is a contentious issue for the Raiders, as they’ve struggled to secure $500 million for a new building. Recent projections expect the Raiders to contribute $500 million, public funding to account for $750 million, and $650 million in private funding, ostensibly from Adelson and his group.

“There’s been a lot of conversation on why are we giving money to billionaires,” Steve Hill, chairman of the oversight committee and head of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development said. “The public is not making a contribution to a privately owned stadium.”

The Raiders filed three “Las Vegas Raiders” trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office earlier Thursday.